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Born to a humble family (his father, born in 1875, was a Galicianfisherman;[1] and his mother, died in 1953, was Sebastiana Navarrete Funes)[2] she started singing from an early age and busked around in Sevilla streets. At the age of 11 she attended Realito Music School to learn singing techniques and did Realito´s house chores as a way to pay for her lessons. At the age of 12 she performed for the first time for King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia at Sevilla Royal Alcázares. Ignacio Sánchez Mejías, a famous Spanish bullfighter, realized Estrellita´s vocal and dancing qualities at a charity festival and gave her a gold coin. Estrellita Castro made her debut at Tronío Theatre in Sierpes Street in Seville but she was bound to perform in the main theatres in Spain, Europe, Latin-America and even the USA.

Her success in Spain attracted the attention of many businessmen and managers who contracted Estrellita. This enabled her to launch her career on an international level as she was successful in the main European cities and some Latin-American countries, where she became a popular idol. Her success as a singer paved her way to the film industry, and she became one of the most popular and highly-paid Spanish actresses of the time. Although she starred in a clip in 1933, she really made her debut in 1935 in Rosario la Cortijera. She starred in 40 movies the most important of which were filmed in Germany- Suspiros de España, The Barber of Seville and Mariquilla Terremoto. The charm of her movements in the cinema together with her powerful acute voice and beauty conquered the public. One of the iconic features of her personal looks was a hair-curl on her forehead.

In the 1960s and 1970s she received many tributes and honors because she was a living myth for the Spanish music and cinema. In 1962 she was awarded with the “Medalla al Mérito en el Trabajo” (English: The Gold Medal for Merit at Work)- symbol of a lifetime devoted to music and work.[3] In 1978 the City Council of Seville agreed to name a street after Estrellita Castro since she contributed to the popularity of her city all over the world. She also got a street named after her in Cordoba and Madrid. She died in 1983, before she arrived to an agreement with Tico Medina to publish her biography. Her dead body remained exhibited at Teatro Lara, where she had been so successful in her heyday. She was buried in Madrid in the Almudena Graveyard, with a hair curl on her forehead and a Spanish mantilla.